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Saturday, 8 November 2014

The Best Of 2010 - part 1

A new decade already? Well, not technically, since decades officially run from years ending in 01 to 10 - but it was the start of the 2010s, even though it only felt like yesterday that we were all panicking about Y2K.

Her hair may have changed colour, but nothing had changed when it came to Rihanna's chart domination in 2010

By 2010, we were living our lives more beholden to technology than ever thanks to social media like Facebook (which I joined in 2007) and Twitter (which I didn't join until June 2009) - and I just got completely sidetracked looking back at my timeline on both sites from 2010. Here's another way to kill some time - join me as I count down my top 100 tracks for that year...Number 100 "Memories" by David Guetta featuring Kid CudiMentioned in Part 2Number 99 "Watercolour" by PendulumI must confess, I still have to listen to Pendulum's three 2010 singles - "Watercolour", "Witchcraft" and "The Island" - to remember which is which. The drum and bass tracks all sound pretty similar and, since the song titles don't feature in the lyrics of any of them, it's easy to get confused. But, it's "Watercolour" that narrowly outranks the other two for me - and remains their biggest UK hit and only Australian top 50 appearance to date.

Number 98 "The Key" by Ou Est Le Swimming PoolMentioned in Part 2Number 97 "White Knuckle Ride" by JamiroquaiNearly two decades after he became the wunderkind of the acid jazz scene, Jay Kay was still churning out his brand of pop/funk - but with greatly reduced success. "White Knuckle Ride", the first product of Jamiroquai's new deal with Mercury Records following the act's departure from Sony Music, became the worst performing lead single in the band's history and the album, Rock Dust Light Star, was the lowest charting on the UK chart. It certainly wasn't on a par with some of his classic singles, but it wasn't that bad.

Number 91 "Animal" by Neon TreesSix years on, and The Killers were still spawning imitators - the latest of whom were Utah electro-rock band Neon Trees, who hit the Australian top 30 and US top 30 with this debut single. To date, it's the only song by the band I've really liked - but they did give me a good interview in 2010, when we talked about all things 1983 (the title of their follow-up single).

Number 90 "Moon Theory" by Miami HorrorAfter channelling Prince on "Don't Be On With Her" (which we saw in my top 100 for 2009), Australian synthpop band Miami Horror sounded more like New Order on this second single from debut album Illumination. It was one of three singles they released in 2010 - another, "I Look To You", featured a singer who'd become much better known in years to come: Kimbra.

Number 89 "Only Girl (In The World)" by Rihanna2010 was as big a year for Rihanna as any she'd had previously, with singles like this lead release from the Loud album, "What's My Name?", "Rude Boy" and Eminem collaboration "Love The Way You Lie" keeping her at the top of charts around the world. But, it was also the year I started to go off her. Having been as much a fan of her music as anyone in the second half of the '00s, most of her 2010 mega-hits did little for me. I liked "Only Girl (In The World)" the most out of that batch, but I found the vocal a little bit shouty, meaning it wound up at the tail end of my top 100 for the year.

Number 83 "Clap Your Hands" by SiaMentioned in Part 4Number 82 "Wear My Kiss" by SugababesYet another line-up change at Sugababes Central at the end of 2009 resulted in the girl group featuring no original members as Keisha Buchanan was expelled and replaced by former Eurovision contestant Jade Ewen, who'd represented Britain at the song contest earlier that year. The latest substitution was one too many for the public, and seventh studio album Sweet 7 bombed. All of the album's singles did manage to hit the UK top 10, but only "Wear My Kiss" made the grade for me - and it remains their last official single. In theory, Heidi, Amelle and Jade still comprise the girl group, but I think it's unlikely we'll ever hear from them again - but then, stranger things have happened (i.e. Mutya Keisha Siobhan).

Number 81 "Party Girl" by McFlyLast seen in my year-end top 100 in 2006, McFly had made a lot of changes in the intervening years - taking control of their career by leaving Island Records and releasing an album they recorded in Australia on their own label. For their fifth album, Above The Noise, McFly struck a new 50/50 deal with Island Records and worked with R&B producer Dallas Austin - and the shift in direction was obvious on this lead single.

Number 78 "Hole In My Heart" by AlphabeatMentioned in Part 4Number 77 "More (RedOne Jimmy Joker mix)" by UsherMentioned in Part 3Number 76 "Hands" by The Ting TingsI remember reviewing this single at the time and describing it as a mix between Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" and "Two Of Hearts" by Stacey Q, which I still think sums it up pretty well. Less spiky and shouty than most singles by The Ting Tings, "Hands" didn't have the so-irritating-its-catchy appeal of "That's Not My Name" and "Shut Up And Let Me Go" - and while that was a good thing in my book, it probably explains why the song and accompanying album Sounds From Nowheresville failed to make much impact.

In Part 2: my favourite single by an act that's already featured twice on this countdown - a group that made headlines when tragedy struck in 2010. Plus, a track by one of the year's biggest hitmakers receives the Glee makeover treatment and a multi-ARIA Award winner benefits from Girls Aloud being on hiatus.